1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electrical connection device and more particularly to an electrical connection device for connecting to plural electrical conductors.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the art of electrical connectors that there are standard connector specifications which define, among other things, the size, shape, strength, and voltage and current capacity for specific electrical connector types. There are many different such specifications for the wide variety of electrical connectors which have been proposed.
It is known in the art of electrical connectors that particular uses for electrical connectors, such as for telephone and data transmission, define which type of connector is used for connecting several electrical devices. For example, when connecting several devices to transmit a telephone signal, one of several electrical connectors may be used. These include a standard RJ11 electrical connector and a standard RJ45 electrical connector. Similarly, when connecting several devices to transmit a data signal, it is possible to use one of several electrical connectors. These include a standard RJ45 electrical connector and a PCMCIA-type connector.
A standard male RJ11 connector is roughly cubical in shape, and includes a latching mechanism to secure the male RJ11 connector to a female RJ11 connector. The male RJ11 connector includes six (6) terminals for contacting a corresponding number of terminals in a female RJ11 connector, to establish six independent pathways. A female RJ11 connector includes a recess which is slightly larger than the male RJ11 connector, and of a similar shape, to accept the a male RJ11 connector. A female RJ11 connector can include up to six (6) electrical terminals, which are physically arranged within the recess such that, when the male RJ11 is placed in the recess, the terminals in the recess of the female RJ11 are individually placed in physical contact with the four respective terminals of the male RJ11. The recess in the female RJ11 connector and the shape of the male RJ11 connector are such that there is only one orientation of the two which allows the two to mate, and thereby precludes connecting the terminals in any but a single way.
A male RJ11 connector may be connected to at least a first electrical conductor such that the first electrical conductor is in electrical communication with a first terminal of the male RJ11 connector. Similarly, a female RJ11 connector may be connected to at least a second electrical conductor such that the second electrical conductor is in electrical communication with a second terminal of the female RJ11 connector. To establish an electrical pathway between the first and second electrical conductors, the first terminal and the second terminal must be chosen such that they line up when the male RJ11 connector and the female RJ11 connector are joined. The male RJ11 connector is placed in the recess of the female RJ11 connector in the orientation dictated by the shape of the recess and the corresponding shape of the male RJ11 connector. The terminals of the male RJ11 connector line up with the terminal(s) of the female RJ11 connector. When the latching mechanism latches the male RJ11 connector to the female RJ11 connector, the respective terminals are in physical and electrical contact, thereby completing an electrical pathway between the at least first and the at least second electrical conductors. When more than one electrical pathway is desired, the desired number of electrical conductors are connected to terminals on the male and female RJ11 connectors.
A standard RJ45 connector is very similar to a standard RJ11 connector. One functional distinction between the two is that a standard RJ45 connector accommodates up to eight (8) electrical conductors by including eight terminals in a male RJ45 connector, and up to eight terminals in a female RJ45 connector. One physical distinction between the two is that a male RJ45 connector is somewhat larger than a male RJ11 connector; a female RJ45 connector is correspondingly larger than a female RJ11 connector.
Telephone signals require two electrical pathways to transmit along electrical conductors. Data signals require more than two electrical pathways. For example, data signals used in an ethernet require four electrical pathways to transmit along electrical conductors.
It is possible to place a male RJ11 connector in the recess of a female RJ45 connector, and establish up to six electrical pathways. It is therefore possible to use a female RJ45 connector for alternatively connecting both telephone and data signal devices through the use of RJ11 and RJ45 connectors, respectively. A limitation on this potential dual functionality of a female RJ45 connector is that both telephone and data signals cannot be accessed through the female RJ45 connector simultaneously, because both a male RJ11 connector and a male RJ45 connector will not physically fit in the recess of a female RJ45 connector.
Another limitation on the potential dual functionality of a female RJ45 connector is that a separate peripheral adapter, called a dongle, may be used to adapt a female RJ45 connector for accepting more than one type of male connector. While use of a dongle potentially allows access to all eight terminals of a female RJ45 connector, it must be added onto the female RJ45. A dongle therefore physically extends the female RJ45 connector, which may not be practical or desirable in many applications. A dongle also does not, in some applications, provide adequate electromagnetic shielding between its terminals.
Yet another limitation on this potential dual functionality of a female RJ45 connector is a threat of damage to the electrical devices intended to be connected. For example, if a telephone includes a male RJ45 connector, and an ethernet includes a female RJ45 connector, the male RJ45 connector may readily be inserted into the recess of the female RJ45 connector. This potentially exposes the telephone to electrical signals which it was not necessarily designed to accommodate, and exposes the ethernet to a load for which it was not necessarily designed. RJ45 connectors thus lack any shielding between diverse data signal type conductors, which further endangers electrical components connectable with them.
It is also known in the art of electrical connectors that when connecting several devices to transmit a data signal, one of several electrical connectors may be used. These include the numerous configurations of PCMCIA-type connectors. PCMCIA-type connectors generally carry four (4) terminals in the female PCMCIA-type connector which line up with four (4) terminals in a male PCMCIA-type connector. Although PCMCIA-type connectors do not all have the same physical configuration, they are characterized by a profile which can be long and thin, with the terminals spread out along the long axis of the connector.